You are seeing from the inside what I can only imagine now. I placed my dad in assisted living last October, after caring for him in my home for nearly five years. At 98 his short term memory is shot and his executive function is much compromised. I was able to keep him in the general population with daily visits and the continuation of companion care from a friend who has worked with him for the last four years. I saw this coming and relented to the management’s wishes that I move him to the memory care unit. He feels even more imprisoned and is a little freaked by the advanced dementia of some of the residents there, on his good days he is still witty and some people might not notice his impairment.

Simply not possible for him to take care of himself and the CNAs that work the rest of the building are slammed, no time to help him with hearing aids, teeth and toileting. I am hoping that the higher number of aides in memory care will be able to keep up, and of course worried about the eventuality that the virus will get inside the walls.

Last week we lost another elderly friend there, a woman who with her husband had become frequent dinner companions. Both were in their 90s. I’m disturbed that I can’t put a hand on her husband’s shoulder to comfort him, he was such a loving and diligent caregiver for her despite his own difficult challenges. She is the third new friend I have lost there in the last two months, I can only imagine how difficult this is for the staff who treat every resident with kindness and respect and like me no doubt build friendships.

Keep up the good work, know that there are so many family members who appreciate and respect the work you do, that would gladly come in and carry some of your load were they allowed inside.